Wikipedia's first sentence called it “palm-shaped amulet popular throughout the middle east and north africa”. Today it says “palm-shaped amulet popular throughout north africa and in the middle east and commonly used in jewellery and wa”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2020 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2020
Depicting the open right hand, an image recognized and used as a sign of protection in many times throughout history, the hamsa is believed by some, predominantly Muslims and Jews, to provide defense against the evil eye .1It has been theorized that its origins lie in Ancient Egypt or Carthage (modern-day Tunisia ) and may have been associated with the Goddess Tanit . Khamsah is an Arabic word that means "five", but also "the five fingers of the hand". The Hamsa is also variously known as the Hand of Fatima after the daughter of the prophet Muhammad , the Hand of Mary , the Hand of Miriam , and the Hand of the Goddess . The Esoteric Codex: Amulets and Talismans .2 The Complete Book of Amulets & Talismans .
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 961452609.
The opening as it stood in 2010
A decorative Hamsa The hamsa ( , khamsa , lit. five , also romanized khamsa and chamsa ) is a palm-shaped amulet popular throughout the Middle East and North Africa . The hamsa is often incorporated in jewellery and wall hangings, as a defense against the evil eye . It is believed to originate in ancient practices associated with the Phoenicians of Carthage .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 369184108.
The opening as it stood in 2015 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Hamsa The Hamsa ( khamsah , Hebrew: חַמְסָה, also romanized khamsa , meaning lit."five") is a palm-shaped amulet popular throughout the Middle East and North Africa , and commonly used in jewellery and wall hangings.Depicting the open right hand, an image recognized and used as a sign of protection in many societies throughout history, the hamsa is believed to provide defense against the evil eye .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 668685809.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Palm-shaped amulet A hanging hamsa in Tunisia The hamsa ( , referring to images of 'the five fingers of the hand'), also known as the hand of Fatima after the daughter of Muhammad , is a palm-shaped amulet popular throughout North Africa and in the Middle East and commonly used in jewellery and wall hangings. Depicting the open right hand, an image recognized and used as a sign of protection in many times throughout history, the hamsa has been traditionally believed to provide defense against the evil eye . In Jewish culture , the hamsa is associated with the number five because of the five fingers depicted on the hand, and because its name is cognate to the Hebrew ḥamishah ( חֲמִישָׁה ), which also means 'five'. The Complete Book of Amulets & Talismans .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1177216538.
The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Palm-shaped amulet A hanging hamsa in Tunisia The hamsa ( Arabic : خمسة , romanized : khamsa , lit. ' five ' , referring to images of 'the five fingers of the hand'), also known as the hand of Fatima , is a palm-shaped amulet popular throughout North Africa and in the Middle East and commonly used in jewellery and wall hangings. Depicting the open hand, an image recognized and used as a sign of protection in many times throughout history, the hamsa has been traditionally believed to provide defense against the evil eye . The Complete Book of Amulets & Talismans .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1298170602. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “palm-shaped amulet popular throughout the middle east and north africa”. Today it says “palm-shaped amulet popular throughout north africa and in the middle east and commonly used in jewellery and wa”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
palm-shaped amulet popular throughout the middle east and north africa
Now
palm-shaped amulet popular throughout north africa and in the middle east and commonly used in jewellery and wa
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
